Authenticate with LinkedIn

You can authenticate with LinkedIn to create your own instance of the LinkedIn element through the UI or through APIs. Once authenticated, you can use the element instance to access the different functionality offered by the LinkedIn platform.

Authenticate Through the UI

Use the UI to authenticate with LinkedIn and create an element instance. LinkedIn authentication follows the typical OAuth 2.0 framework and you will need to sign in to LinkedIn as part of the process.

If you are configuring events, see the Events section.

To authenticate an element instance:

1. Sign in to Cloud Elements, and then search for LinkedIn in our Elements Catalog.
2. Hover over the element card, and then click Authenticate.
3. Enter a name for the element instance.
4. Optionally type or select one or more Element Instance Tags to add to the authenticated element instance.
5. Click Create Instance.
6. Provide your LinkedIn credentials, and then allow the connection.

After successfully authenticating, we give you several options for next steps. Make requests using the API docs associated with the instance, map the instance to a virtual data resource, or use it in a formula template.

Authenticate Through API

Authenticating through API is similar to authenticating via the UI. Instead of clicking and typing through a series of buttons, text boxes, and menus, you will instead send a request to our /instances endpoint. The end result is the same, though: an authenticated element instance with a token and id.

Authenticating through API follows a multi-step OAuth 2.0 process that involves:

• Getting a redirect URL. This URL sends users to the vendor to log in to their account.
• Authenticating users and receiving the authorization grant code. After the user logs in, the vendor makes a callback to the specified url with an authorization grant code.
• Authenticating the element instance. Using the authorization code from the vendor, authenticate with the vendor to create an element instance at Cloud Elements.

Getting a Redirect URL

Use the following API call to request a redirect URL where the user can authenticate with the API provider. Replace {keyOrId} with the element key, linkedin.

curl -X GET /elements/{keyOrId}/oauth/url?apiKey=<api_key>&apiSecret=<api_secret>&callbackUrl=<url>&siteAddress=<url>

Query Parameters

Example cURL

curl -X GET \
  'https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/elements/linkedin/oauth/url?apiKey=fake_api_key&apiSecret=fake_api_secret&callbackUrl=https://www.mycoolapp.com/auth&state=linkedin' \

Example Response

Use the oauthUrl in the response to allow users to authenticate with the vendor.

{
"element": "linkedin",
"oauthUrl": "AQRG6-6KaSAifvXanhCYf586Jf_0s6CdNshxiV8AhIwXM0mCBJVkeZhFTq3Z63IifnRbKuQ09Jr7QYHMD5NM_YPWBhitItIaTLbOmflfLIXbJcDs8kYn9gmKXENwvs_UonQ8I8zhZnvtdWga-ow"
}

Authenticating Users and Receiving the Authorization Grant Code

Provide the response from the previous step to the users. After they authenticate, LinkedIn provides the following information in the response:

• code
• state

Authenticating the Element Instance

Use the /instances endpoint to authenticate with LinkedIn and create an element instance. If you are configuring events, see the Events section.

To authenticate an element instance:

1. Construct a JSON body as shown below (see Parameters):

   {
     "element": {
       "key": "linkedin"
     },
     "providerData": {
       "code": "<AUTHORIZATION_GRANT_CODE>"
     },
     "configuration": {
       "oauth.callback.url": "<CALLBACK_URL>",
       "oauth.api.key": "<CONSUMER_KEY>",
       "oauth.api.secret": "<CONSUMER_SECRET>"
     },
     "tags": [
       "<Add_Your_Tag>"
     ],
     "name": "<INSTANCE_NAME>"
   }
   

2. Call the following, including the JSON body you constructed in the previous step:

   POST /instances
   

   Note: Make sure that you include the User and Organization keys in the header. See the Overview for details.

3. Locate the token and id in the response and save them for all future requests using the element instance.

Example cURL

curl -X POST \
  https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/instances \
  -H 'authorization: User <USER_SECRET>, Organization <ORGANIZATION_SECRET>' \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "element": {
    "key": "linkedin"
  },
  "providerData": {
    "code": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
  },
  "configuration": {
    "oauth.callback.url": "https;//mycoolapp.com",
    "oauth.api.key": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    "oauth.api.secret": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
  },
  "tags": [
    "Docs"
  ],
  "name": "API Instance"
}'

Parameters

API parameters not shown in Cloud Elements are in code formatting.

Example Response for an Authenticated Element Instance

In this example, the instance ID is 12345 and the instance token starts with "ABC/D...". The actual values returned to you will be unique: make sure you save them for future requests to this new instance.

{
  "id": 12345,
  "name": "API Instance",
  "createdDate": "2017-08-07T18:46:38Z",
  "token": "ABC/Dxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "element": {
      "id": 7017,
      "name": "LinkedIn",
      "hookName": "ServiceNow",
      "key": "linkedin",
      "description": " a LinkedIn Instance to connect your existing LinkedIn account to the Social Hub, allowing you to manage companies, comments, followers and likes across multiple Social Elements. You will need your LinkedIn account information to add an instance.",
      "image": "elements/provider_linkedin.png",
      "active": false,
      "deleted": false,
      "typeOauth": false,
      "trialAccount": false,
      "resources": [ ],
      "transformationsEnabled": true,
      "bulkDownloadEnabled": true,
      "bulkUploadEnabled": true,
      "cloneable": true,
      "extendable": true,
      "beta": true,
      "authentication": {
          "type": "oauth2"
      },
      "extended": false,
      "hub": "social",
      "protocolType": "http",
      "parameters": [  ]
    },
    "elementId": 7017,
    "tags": [
      "Docs"
      ],
    "provisionInteractions": [  ],
    "valid": true,
    "disabled": false,
    "maxCacheSize": 0,
    "cacheTimeToLive": 0,
    "configuration": {    },
    "eventsEnabled": false,
    "traceLoggingEnabled": false,
    "cachingEnabled": false,
    "externalAuthentication": "none",
    "user": {
        "id": 12345
      }
}